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The naming, structural isomerism and physical properties of the alkanes and alkenes have all been covered in the previous sub-topic. This sub-topic is concerned with the chemical reactions of the alkanes and the alkenes.... more

This is very much a practical introduction to organic chemistry and is excellent for demonstrating (or reinforcing) the underlying theory. The aim is to familiarise students with some basic organic compounds and to get them... more

‘Fundamentals of organic chemistry' is rather a strange name for this first sub-topic. There are no explanations given as to why organic chemistry is important or why more compounds of carbon are known than the sum of... more

1. Hazard symbolsAs many goods are transported around the world it obviously makes sense that there are international agreements on the use of Hazard Symbols for potentially dangerous chemicals (many, but by no means all,... more

1. Voltaic cells and standard electrode potentialsThis topic causes students considerable difficulty when they come to answer questions on standard electrode potentials in Paper 2. It is also a topic that many teachers seem... more

This sub-topic follows on neatly from the last one on oxidation and reduction and in particular the activity series. If you did some practical work where students added metals to solutions containing the ions of other metals... more

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Geoffrey Neuss has over thirty years experience teaching and examining the IB Diploma programme and an in-depth, ongoing familiarity with how the IB functions. He has a Ph.D. in organometallic chemistry and has written several IB Chemistry books and led over 100 workshops for teachers worldwide.